pedebsen



H. C. PEDERSEN.

MATCH BOX. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3| I9l9.

Patented Oct. 14, 1919.

Tm: mummm PLANDGRAPII co., WASHINGTON, I) c.

HAROLD C. PEDERSEN, OF NEW YORK, N, Y.

MATCH-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 14, 1919.

Application filed February 3, 1919. Serial No. 274,614.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLDv G. Pnonnsnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, county of Westchester, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Match- Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a box of the kind that is carried in the pocket and is adapted to contain matches, cigarettes and the like, and. is constructed of metal forming a body portion to inclose the contents.

The invention is illustrated and described in this application as a match box having a pair of lids, to one of which is secured a holder for matches, such as card matches or paper matches, the construction of the box causing the ends of the matches to be pro j ected slightly so that they can be grasped to be torn off. V

This invention relates particularly to the construction of the spring hinge of the match holder, which hinge is of the type that employs a pintle which acts also as a spring, the pintle being rectangular or of a similar shape and secured so that it is under a torsional strain and thus exerts a spring or yielding pressure on the holder.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a front view of the box in open position,

and Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig.v

3 is a view of the bottom part of the lid shown in face View in Fig. l and partly broken away to show the hinge. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of part of the lid and holder to more clearly illustrate the manner of assembling and securing several of the parts of the hinge.

In the construction illustrated the body portion consists of a pair of hinged lids l0 and 11, these being joined together by a suitable hinge 12, which, in boxes of this kind, is usually a spring hinge, but the particular kind of hinge is not illustrated, since this is subject to modification and is well known in the art. The lids, when closed, are held in closed position by any form of suitable latch, that shown consisting of a latch piece 13 connected to a finger piece 14 and being adapted to snap under an edge 15.

Boxes of this kind, to provide a good closure and also a neat appearance, are provided with suitable flanges, the lid 10 in the construction shown being provided with an inwardly turned flange 16. Within the closed lids, and secured to one of them, preferably at the bottom, is a holder 17, this holder being adapted to carry different articles, but to fully illustrate the invention I have shown the holder as being adapted to hold matches 18 of the usual paper type which come in packages and are torn off, the base portion thereof having a strip of ignition compound for the purpose of lighting the match, and for this reason the holder 17 is shown as being provided with an open front 19 so that access can be had to the ignition surface.

The holder is provided with ears 20 and 21 which are spaced apart and fit in spaced openings in a channel 22, this channel being placed behind the flange 16 and is usually formed, in articles of this kind, from hollow wire which is securely held in place, usually by soldering. The channel 22 extends to the outer edge of the lid 10, as at 23. The hollow wire with the channel in it and the ears with their openings thus provide the knuckles for the hinge on which the holder swings, the pintle for the hinge being a rectangular piece of material, preferably of metal, this material being spring material, and when the cars 20 and 21 are in place the rectangular strip or pintle 24 is passed through the opening 23 into the channel 22, the openings in the channel and in the ear 21 being large enough to permit free turning or rotation of the pintle therein, this being accomplished by usually making these openings round. But one of the ears, preferably the one farthest away from the end 23 of the channel, is provided with an opening 25 into which the pintle fits, so that there is no rotative movement of one relative to the other.

The pintle 24, usually a metal strip, is then twisted, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that torsional strain is applied thereto, and the torque of the pintle tends to partially rotate the holder 17 to which the ear 20 is attached. When the proper tension is applied, a fastening means, such as a plug 26, is inserted in the end 23 of the passage 22, and the pintle is thus held against any rotative movement and it thus imparts a spring action to the holder. The plug 26 and the end of the strip or pintle 24: are cut off, the outer ends are finished even with the surface of the lid, and by a proper polishing or other finishing they are not detected by the eye and a smooth surface is in Fig. 2 when the box is open, thus presenting the material in the holder so that it can be grasped, and in the case of matches permitting the fingers to grasp them to tear them from the strip in which they are made.

Means other than the plug 26 can be employed to hold the end of the spring pintle in position in the end 23 of the channel 22, but I have found a. plug of this kind effective, and when trimmed ofi, along with the end of the pintle, flush with the surface of the outside of the lid forms a smooth unbroken surface, does not become loosened and positively holds the spring in place. This is usually further guaranteed by reason of the spring and the plug beingof comparatively hard metal, such as steel, and the lid or body portion being of softer metal,

such as brass, and the plug and the edges of the strip- 2% become embedded in the material and a very tight joint is assured which, after the ends are polished, is not detectable.

The, forward movement of the holder can be limited in a number of ways, one form being illustrated in Fig. 2, in which the shank connecting the ears with the holder engages the top edge of the flange, as at 27, 'or I may provide a stop 28 extending from the holder, as in Fig. 3, this stop enrectangular opening and rotatable in the channel, and means for engaging the body portion and the pintle at a substantial dis tance from the fitted part of the pintle, whereby the pintle is held twisted to exert a spring action on the holder through the torque of the pintle.

2. A box comprising a lid with a flange thereon, the lid having a channel therein under the flange, the channel having spacedopenings, a holder with ears in the openings, a spring pintle secured to one ear, and means for fastening one end of the pintle tothe l-id in a twisted position, the-channeled part of the lid and the second ear of the holder being free to rotate on the pintle.

3. A box comprising a lid the lid having a channel extending to the edge of the lid and having spaced openings in its length, a holder with spaced ears thereon, the ear farthest from the end of the channel: having a, rectangular opening, a rectangular spring pintle in the channel and fitting in the rectangular opening of the ear, and means in the end of the channel for plugging the channel and holding the pintlein a, twisted position. i

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereto set my hand this 31st day of January, 1919. is HAROLD O. PEDERSEN.

copies ofthis patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, D. G. 

